A group of Karnes County students will contribute this year to the international Great Backyard Bird Count. Information gathered by tens of thousands of volunteers helps track the health of bird populations at a scale that would not otherwise be possible. The Great Backyard Bird Count is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society with partner Bird Studies Canada.

The Great Backyard Bird Count will take place this weekend February 14, 15, 16, and 17. Everyone is welcome–from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds. The GBBC is a real-time snapshot of where birds are. Participants tally the number of individual birds of each species they see during their count period. They enter these numbers on the GBBC website.

Students Matt Gonzales, Gabe Gonzales, Luke Lopez, and Adam Chase have been preparing for the bird count under the guidance of John Leleux and Wade Phelps. The students have been learning bird identification, bird habits, bird songs, and binocular skills over the last 7 weeks. Together they have identified 22 species of birds in their adventures in Karnes County. They will continue to prepare through the spring to compete in the Great Texas Birding Classic in May.

The students invite everyone to join in both the Backyard Bird Count this weekend and The Great Texas Birding Classic later this spring. To learn more about the Backyard Bird Count visit www.birdcount.org and to learn about the Great Texas Birding Classic visit the Texas Parks & Wildlife Departments website online. To talk about team sponsorship in Karnes County, contact Dr. Wade Phelps at 830-583-9891.